Yep, a 1980 Ford Fairmont Station wagon - complete with fake wood grain and a
tired 221 CID inline 6-cylinder engine topped by a 1-BBL carb. Why put up a page
about this? Two reasons. First, this was the only vehicle I owned that I didn't
buy or otherwise seek out - I inherited it when I got married. Second, it was
the car I actually got furthest with on bodywork before it's unexpected demise -
it was the first victim of my new son's not quite complete mastery of driving a
certain twisty road. If you are interested in the second victim, you can
check out the page on Odie.

Before this car died, I was well on my way to removing the fugly wood grain
decals and getting this car ready for paint. It was going to be my son's car,
and we decided to have some fun with the color - it was going to be purple. We
looked at some late 90's Ford products (the Ranger pickup and the Escort, IIRC),
and they offered some nice metallic colors in the shade of purple (all with
light grey interiors) that we liked, so I researched the paint codes and costs.
I also was pointed to a non-metallic Chrysler color in the same basic shade of
purple. Anyways, the estimate I had was that about 3 quarts would be needed to
paint the car.

Why preserve the paint codes here? They're cool colors, and someday I may
still decide to paint a car purple. This way I don't need to worry about losing
the small scrap of paper this information was preserved on anymore - long live
the web!

Sorry, no photos yet. There are 4x6 photos of the car post-wreck floating about,
and if I
ever find them, I'll scan them in and post them here. If you knew me when I owned this
vehicle and happen to have any photos of it, please send them along so I can
post them here.

Some of the parts from this car still linger in my garage. It took until 2005
to finally sell off the C4 transmission and starter. I do recall that the front
bench seat went to Chris, one of my son's friends, shortly after the accident.
He was in the car and thought it was cool to hand onto it. I'm sure his mother
was thrilled. The power steering pump and alternator are still stashed away in a
box somewhere.

Purchasing Order

This was Car #7. The only car I became part owner of as a result of another
non-automotive related action (getting married). My first station wagon. My
first experience with working on a 1-bbl carb - the
1965 Valiant also had a 1-bbl
carb, but I never worked on it. My first and only attempt to remove wood grain
trim. My first tire and wheel upgrade. The first car that ever got - literally -
totaled while I owned it.

Comments? Kudos? Got some parts you'd like to
buy/sell/barter/swap? Nasty comments about my web page so far? You can email
Mike or
Debbie.